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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25394572">Sakura: A Shinobi's Memory</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/sprx77/pseuds/sprx77'>sprx77</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Timbitat Quarantine Bingo [10]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Naruto, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia, 더 게이머 | The Gamer (Webcomic)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Crossovers &amp; Fandom Fusions, Eagle Vision (Assassin's Creed), Gamer Midoriya Izuku, The Gamer Ability (The Gamer), Video Game Mechanics</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 07:01:51</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>6,877</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25394572</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/sprx77/pseuds/sprx77</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When Izuku sleepily downloads a new app, the last thing he expects is for his dreams to quite literally turn into a video game. He probably should have read the Terms and Conditions.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Timbitat Quarantine Bingo [10]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1708987</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>124</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Sakura: A Shinobi's Memory</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">


        <li>
            Inspired by

            <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24547516">Sakura Haruno and the Routes to True Love</a> by <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScrappyAsFrick/pseuds/ScrappyAsFrick">ScrappyAsFrick</a>.
        </li>

    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Oh, my god. This took forever and it's still only the first chapter. Sakura: A Shinobi's Memory should go right up until the chunin exams. Which is to say, it will end right after the wave arc. Also? I hate CSS and forever will.  I love reading gamer!fics but writing them is an entirely different ball game!! This was inspired by a really cool 'Dating Sim' game fic that ScrappyAsFrick wrote. Of course my goblin brain will turn anything into a bnha crossover. I'm starting this slow but it should pick up into real ninja stuff soon.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Izuku had been awake for over twenty four hours when he found a new app. It was neat-looking. Something about ninjas and ninja villages. Clearly Shonen-themed but it had a girl on the cover. He was intrigued, despite the numbness in his fingers.</p><p>He dropped his phone three times, got it downloaded, and had just enough time to register his username before sleep took him.</p><p>When he opened his eyes, he was surrounded on all sides by a murky, misty gray. No—surrounded by darkness, through which a grey mist seemed to <em>suggest</em> four walls. It was only Izuku in the room.</p><p>“Say ‘Sai’ to summon your guide.” A voice instructed out of nowhere.</p><p>Izuku blinked. He’s had lucid dreams before, but this is unusual even for him. Perhaps he’d gone to bed even more tired than he thought.</p><p>“Sai.” He said, because what else was he going to do?</p><p>A man appeared, walking out of the mists.</p><p>He had pale skin and wore all dark shades, midriff exposed. His face was an almost pasty white and his hair matched the darkness around them.</p><p>Izuku almost relaxed. The man looked like a ninja; this was probably a result of that game he downloaded before he passed out.</p><p>“I’m Sai.” Said Sai. “I’ll be your guide to the series. Welcome to the <em>Sakura</em> games, SmallMight76.”</p><p>“Oh god no.” Izuku covered his face with his hands. “Please, just call me Izuku.”</p><p>“Name registered.” The man says, sounding almost like an AI. “Welcome, Izuku. Which game would you like to start with?”</p><p>“Um. What are my options?” Was he really going with this?</p><p>“Chronologically the games in the series are as follows. First <em>Sakura: A Shinobi’s Memory</em>, second <em>Sakura: Hanami</em>, third <em>Sakura: Daughter of Fire</em>, fourth is <em>Sakura</em>: <em>Red Dawn Rising</em>, and in production is a fifth game, <em>Sakura: The Leaves of War</em>, title a placeholder.”</p><p>His subconscious certainly was making the effort tonight, wasn’t it? What, was he going to live out his dream through some imaginary combat system that aped a fighting game?</p><p>“The first one then, I suppose.”</p><p>“You’ve selected <em>Sakura: A Shinobi’s Memory</em>. Do you have any questions before you begin?”</p><p>Did he? Only about a thousand.</p><p>“What’s the gameplay like?” He asked, wondering if this was a Mortal Kombat type situation or a more open world experience.</p><p>“The world is divided into five major nations.” Sai started, less like he was reading off a script and more like this was well-established lore. He put a dramatic spin on it.</p><p>“The five nations are Water, Earth, Wind, Lightning and Fire. Each of the five major nations has a hidden ninja village, responsible for their security and their great status. There are lesser nations in the world, but without a hidden village, their futures are never certain.</p><p>“In the hidden villages, young shinobi are trained. These ninja learn the arts of chakra and its manipulation at an Academy. The <em>Sakura</em> series is set in the Land of Fire, in the Village Hidden in the Leaves: Konohagakure.”</p><p>“So I’ll be a shinobi?” Izuku asked, pensive.</p><p>Sai nodded and continued.</p><p>“Shinobi take Missions for their great nation and for nearby countries, which are ranked depending on skill. Rookie shinobi might take escort missions, carrier missions, or do small tasks like gardening at a faster rate with their super-human abilities. Missions make the economy, and therefore the shinobi world, ‘go round.’”</p><p>Izuku snorted at the attempt at humor.</p><p>“So I’ll be doing Missions, then? What kind?”</p><p>Sai raised a finger and diagrams popped into the air where he pointed, cheerfully sitting in front of him. Izuku would have blinked except, well, he was already in a complete ‘simulation.’</p><p>Why <em>not</em> have pop up figures for exposition?</p><p>“There are four types of missions you need to worry about. It can get a little confusing, but the game is still in Beta. Bear with us. Instead of quests like a traditional game, the <em>Sakura</em> series uses Missions. It fits with the ninja theme.”</p><p>“And there are four types?”</p><p>Izuku’s fingers itched for a pen, but honestly he’s never taken notes for a video game before and hoped all this would be available later in some sort of tutorial in case he forgot.</p><p>Sai beamed.</p><p>“There are four types.” He agrees. “To begin with, there are “Main Story Missions” that function as the primary questline in the game. The game uses an episodic format for major story arcs. Within the Main Story Missions are three sub-tier missions. They do not cancel out the over-arching mission but function as part of it. For instance, a Main Story Mission might be to achieve a certain Ninja Rank. To do that, you would need to complete several sub-tier missions.”</p><p>“So you have to complete all of the sub-tiered missions to finish the Main Story Mission?” Izuku hazarded. This was far more complex than his dreams had ever gotten, before.</p><p>“Incorrect. Some of the sub-tier missions are optional. You won’t know in advance which ones are critical to the mission. The first sub-tier mission is the Story Mission. Each Main Story Mission has a handful of Story Missions that progress the Story. Below this are Side Missions. Side Missions are optional and you can refuse to accept them. However, denying one or failing one has consequences to the Story and how other characters treat you. You may need the Mission rewards to progress with the Story Mission, or even the overall Main Story Mission. There are also Side Missions that have no effect on the story, but determining this in advance can be difficult. Failing or denying the wrong Side Mission can therefore result in an overall Main Story Mission failure.”</p><p>“What happens if I fail a Main Story Mission?” Izuku asked, blinking in surprise.</p><p>“You die.” Sai smiled brightly.</p><p>“What!?” Izuku clutched his heart.</p><p>“Just kidding.” Sai’s smile remained in place, voice barely having any inflection. “You will have on other choice but to re-do the Main Story Mission to progress with the Story. However, some Main Story Missions have multiple endings.”</p><p>“Can I… retry the Mission to unlock an alternate ending?”</p><p>Sai tilted his head to the side, as if in consideration. His facial features did not change.</p><p>“It is possible to replay Main Story Missions.” He reported, after a moment. “However, you will lose all progress after that point when you return to the start of the Mission. For example, if you are in Episode 4, and would like to replay a Mission in Episode 2, you will lose all progress made in Episodes 2, 3 and 4. It will be as if none of the events from the beginning of the Mission onward ever happened.”</p><p>“So if I want an alternate ending, it’s better to replay it right away.”</p><p>“That is an adequately-reasoned inference.”</p><p>Sai did not blink. His smile faded back into a neutral expression.</p><p>“What is the fourth type of mission?” Izuku asked.</p><p>“I am glad you asked.” Sai smiled briefly, as if using an emoji. “The fourth types of Missions are issued by the Hokage. These are Shinobi Missions accepted by your direct superior within the chain of command. They have various letter rankings according to difficulty. Genin take D-Rank Missions and the occasional C-Rank Mission.”</p><p>Izuku’s head was swimming.</p><p>“And the Hokage is the…?”</p><p>“If your question is about the role of the Hokage, please wait until the Story to reveal that lore.”</p><p>Izuku hummed to himself. Despite himself, he was getting intrigued by the challenge. Panic and uncertainty aside, either as an extremely immersive virtual reality game or an unusually vivid, half-lucid dream, this was <em>interesting</em>.</p><p>“Is there a tutorial?”</p><p>“This guide acts as a small tutorial. However, because the game is still in beta, you may summon me at any time for additional questions. The game does not have a pause feature, but when I am summoned time will stop, the surroundings will ‘gray out’, and no NPCs will notice our interaction.”</p><p>Izuku’s mind raced as he went over what he knew. This was all absurdly realistic.</p><p>“Is that your final question?”</p><p>“No!” Izuku blurted, abruptly worried he’d be tossed in the deep end with little idea what’s going on. His heart raced as he tried to actually formulate a question. Sai waited patiently.</p><p>“Um—if Side Quests—I mean, Missions—are sometimes unrelated to the Storyline, does that mean I can go out of my way to find them. That is to say, um, how ‘Open World’ is the game. As opposed to like, quest-driven.”</p><p>Sai flashed his emoji smile again.</p><p>“A good question. We will add this to the game FAQ. There are many Side Missions available which are unrelated to the Main Story Mission. You will have many opportunities to complete them. Some Missions have pre-requisites. Some NPCs will have new Missions available after you complete the previous Mission. Some have Missions that reset every day, or after a set period of time.”</p><p>“Do Missions give XP?”</p><p>“Missions give experience.” Sai nodded. “It is scaled experience based on the Rank. Missions can also deliver rewards such as Ryo and Items.”</p><p>“How do I track experience?”</p><p>“Experience is a metric tracked on ‘Level’ bar at the top of the HUD. When you Level Up, you receive an Attribute Point to use in your various unlocked Skill Trees, and the increased experience will flash across the center HUD.”</p><p>“HUD?”</p><p>“It’s the ‘screen’ or user interface you see before you. I’ll turn it on now.”</p><p>Sai waved his hand and various metrics appeared in his field of vision. When he focused away from them, they dulled slightly, somehow becoming unobtrusive.</p><p>It was like wearing glasses, Izuku figured. You stopped seeing them unless you needed to.</p><p>“So these here on the bottom…” Based on the colors, he could probably guess. “Mana, Health, Strength?”</p><p>“Close.” Sai allowed, unblinking. “Chakra—the mana equivalent--, Health, and Stamina, which does function somewhat as a strength equivalent. Your Stamina determines how many physical actions you can perform as well as what carry weight you’re allotted.”</p><p>Izuku pondered that.</p><p>“Alright, so—”</p><p>“Forgive me for the interruption.” Izuku waited and Sai kind of stared at him for a moment.</p><p>“I… forgive you?”</p><p>“Excellent. It is my suggestion that you postpone any further questions until you have completed the initial gameplay. You can, of course, ‘pause’ any time if you have further need of me. However, most of your questions will be answered through experience.”</p><p>Izuku glanced at each of the features of his HUD.</p><p>“I guess the interface is fairly intuitive…” He allowed.</p><p>“Yes. Are you ready to proceed?”</p><p>Izuku took a deep breath to quell the anxiety roiling inside him. It was just a game.</p><p>“Yes, please.” He said.</p><p>“Alright. Welcome to <em>Sakura: Shinobi’s Memory</em>. This game takes place, for the most part, in Konohagakure: the Ninja Village Hidden in the Leaves.” Sai repeated part of the intro. “You are Haruno Sakura, a young kunoichi of the Leaf Village. You are currently around seven years old. To begin your adventures, you will need to know and understand the world around you.”</p><p>Sai gestured and the buildings and streets of Konoha sprung up around them, barely jostling the HUD.</p><p>“To get a better understanding of Konoha and its people, you’re going to need the Eyes of the Eagle. This will be your first Mission of the Game."</p><p>As he spoke the next words, a text box appeared as if giving him subtitles.</p>
<p></p><div class="b2">
  <p>"Do you Accept?" <span class="font-blue"> [Yes/No]</span></p>
</div><p>Izuku touched the “Yes” button.</p><p>Sai smiled with his eyes closed and vanished.</p><p>The world swirled into glorious color, interrupted with only a single translucent textbox.</p><p>A sound played, a familiar soundbyte.</p><p>“Hey! That’s just the quest-acceptance theme from Zelda!”</p><p>“The <em>Sakura</em> series is still in Beta and, specifically, doesn’t yet charge for its games. Therefore at this time we can use copyrighted music under the fair use clause for entertainment purposes. Do you like it?”</p><p>“It’s weird.” Izuku admits, to Sai and the grey world behind him.</p><p>“It will be changed.”</p><p>The world faded in again, this time to a tune approximating an old-school heavy click with a touch of the clash of metal-on-metal.</p><p>
  <em>Click!</em>
</p><p>The textbox appeared.</p>
<p></p><div class="b2">
  <p>
    <span class="font-blue">Mission: Eaglevision</span>
  </p>
  <p>You need to climb to the highest point of the village in order to unlock the Eyes of the Eagle.</p>
</div><p>Izuku grinned to himself.</p><p>He looked around.</p><p>Ironically, the buildings to either side of the street were pretty tall. He couldn’t see to the other parts of town.</p><p>As he moved, the bar at the top of the HUD changed slightly. He watched it more carefully, inadvertently bumping into a merchant as he spun.</p><p>“Watch out!” Someone called, and he righted himself just in time, calling out a hasty apology. He proceeded to the nearest alley, carefully dodging foot traffic, until he could rest in the shadow of a building and change direction in peace.</p><p>The air was warm on his skin.</p><p>It felt incredibly real.</p><p>Izuku turned in a slow circle, watching the white rhombus skate across the bottom of the bar and disappear entirely if he turned too far.</p><p>Guess now, he centered the diamond to the middle of the bar and walked in that direction. It stayed in place. There were no other indicators on the bar, except for the small N, S, W, and E that corresponded to the directions and the various NE/NW, SE/SW that sprung up between them.</p><p>He pretty much immediately realized the problem with this short cut; the streets did not follow a straight line like this. His destination was somewhere between North and North-East of his position, but the street went east-to-west right now. He would turn a corner confidently only for a building to be directly in his path.</p><p>
  <em>Click!</em>
</p>
<p></p><div class="b2">
  <p>
    <span class="font-blue">Side Mission: Climb a Building</span>
  </p>
  <p>In order to locate your destination, you need to get a higher vantage point. Do you Accept?<span class="font-blue"> [Yes/No]</span></p>
</div><p>Izuku touched ‘Yes’.</p><p>Immediately the compass spun to his direct left. Izuku looked over and a three story building looked back at him.</p><p>“How do I…?” he wondered out loud.</p><p>Quickly, before he could garner any attention, Izuku meandered to the space between this building and its neighbor. Both appeared to be residential.</p><p>Helpfully, there was a fire escape going all the way up the building, stopping with doors at each floor. Unhelpfully, the lowest rung of the ladder was folded up about ten foot above his head.</p><p>He glared at it. He knew from safety drills and television, to say nothing of common sense, that it was designed to lower down from the lowest platform.</p><p>That didn’t help him <em>now</em>.</p><p>The alley door opened and Izuku quickly ran behind a dumpster.</p><p>Someone walked to the dumpster, lifted the lid, and threw in some trash, footsteps quickly receding back to the door. It opened and shut again. Izuku breathed out, grateful, and glared once more at the ladder he couldn’t reach to extend.</p><p>He had to get creative.</p><p>He patted down the pockets of his… dress. He had no pouches or anything on him for equipment, no backpack or anything. And it was really more of a shirt and shorts combo, with some sort of black fabric band wrapping across it at the midriff, leaving a little apron hanging over the shorts.</p><p>The shirt was a cheerful red, the hems an inch of white fabric. The shorts were poofy like something out of Victorian England or some adjacent time period. Izuku’s mind flashed to the immortal meme housed on a forum in a place of honor; some court bard with similar flared hose, reading <em>Art thou nasty</em> across the backside.</p><p>The shorts at least matched the shirt; the same red color. There was no writing anywhere and he even craned his neck back to check.</p><p>At least it wasn’t a dress, he thought to himself, ears reddening slightly.</p><p>Izuku took a deep breath, getting ready to jump for it. He double checked that no one was approaching, knelt confidently, knees bending—</p><p>Sai appeared, the world going grey.</p><p>“Oh, look!” The man said, seemingly reading off a script. “It appears you have met a challenge that is giving you some difficulty. Perhaps you have a helpful tool in your Inventory?”</p><p>“Inventory?” Izuku said. A black screen appeared in front of him, large enough to block out everything else. It showed Izuku himself in his current outfit, centerstage with his arms and legs a little wide.</p><p>A character menu, apparently.</p><p>There were slots and little boxes.</p><p>Only one was occupied.</p><p>A little scroll sat, innocent as you please, white. He at first took it for toilet paper, but it was too tall and too thin.</p><p>Guessing where this was going, Izuku tapped the icon and was not surprised when it materialized in his hand. Sai’s voice rang out but there was no visual; the Inventory screen had not dismissed itself.</p><p>“You have ten Slots in your Inventory. For every five levels you will gain a Slot. Any single object can be placed into the Inventory Slot, regardless of size or weight, by touching it and thinking of where you want to place it.”</p><p>“Only ten?” Izuku questioned, hoping for some elaboration on that. He looked at the scroll.</p><p>“A way around this limitation is Sealing. Sealing, or the art of Fuinjutsu, allows one to use chakra and written Seals to cause various effects. A popular choice is a Sealing Scroll. Depending on the size and quality of the Scroll, multiple objects can be stored inside. They can, however, get exponentially more expensive. Fuinjutsu users are rare and the art is dying. To save money and unlock the powerful and arcane secrets of Seals, you can decide to learn the art of Fuinjutsu.”</p><p>Izuku carefully unrolled the scroll. A circular design in black ink looked back at him.</p><p>“You need to activate it.” Sai advised, still unseen. “Since this is your first use of chakra, the Scroll is carefully designed to help. Pay careful attention because after this you’re going to be expected to channel your chakra on your own.”</p><p>Izuku stared at the scroll.</p><p>Nothing happened.</p><p>He started to ask.</p><p>“There’s a current of energy running through your body.” Sai’s voice interrupted. “It’s miniscule because you haven’t harnessed any of it yet, but it’s there. Focus on it running through your hands and into the scroll. Think about channeling the energy through you and into the paper.”</p><p>Flushing, Izuku did so. It felt a little like his arm going to sleep and a little like static electricity, but something warm seemed to flow along his veins and into his fingers.</p><p>The energy continued right into the design and the black ink took on a blue glow. The next thing Izuku knew, he was dropping everything to shield his face. Belatedly, he realized that the scroll had exploded in a harmless but warm pop of smoke—complete with a sound affect—and disappeared.</p><p>Izuku looked down at the spool of rope on the ground.</p><p>The coiled rope did not explode.</p><p>Carefully he picked it up. It was sturdy in his hands.</p><p>He looked back to the fire escape, mind kicking into a race.</p><p>He could pretty easily catch the rope through one of the holes in the metal, letting gravity pull the end back to him, and then he’d have to dangling lines of rope. His chances of getting it in the <em>exact</em> right rung to pull the ladder down did not seem great, especially with nothing to weigh the throwing end, so he would probably need to use a slip knot and, once the rope was fulling braced against itself and attached to the metal, climb the rope.</p><p>He glanced forlornly at his own forearms.</p><p>Then again, this was a video game.</p><p>Just because Sakura <em>seemed</em> the same age as him didn’t mean she was of the same ability. Video game protags had in-universe skills that seemed superhuman to the players.</p><p> It took him ten tries to loop the rope around a railing.</p><p>Rope is heavier than it looks. He always thought it’d be light, woven lengths of string, but it was more akin to a good chain’s weight! No wonder they can use it on ships and dockyards.</p><p>He was panting a bit by the time he managed to wrap one end around the longer side, remembering the correct loops easily enough. It was the kind of thing he’d gone down a rabbit hole after rabbit hole on the internet researching, different knots and traps and survival techniques.</p><p>The kind of things he could <em>never</em> talk about around Kacchan because he’d make fun of Izuku for days, and it’s not his fault he likes learning so much. All it takes is one WorldWideEncyclopedia article and then he’s in a tumbling world of interlocking links, and suddenly his mom is calling him for dinner and six hours have passed.</p><p>It payed off now, though.</p><p>He eyed the rope with some amount of trepidation.</p><p>Izuku took a deep breath and began to climb. He got approximately a fourth of way up the rope, putting one hand after another, before he realized how dumb he was being.</p><p>“Stupid!” He berated himself, slowly going back down. His forearms burned but not to the extent he expected, shoulders only protesting a little.</p><p>It was clear this body was more in shape than his own.</p><p>He threw the end of the rope over one of the iron fastenings closest to the building wall, waiting until it fell in front of him again, and gripped it tight. Then he put both feet on the wall and started pulling himself up the rope, taking shaky steps as he went.</p><p>It wasn’t a really high climb—only ten or so feet—but it felt like a mountain and the entire process was <em>not</em> as easy as it looked online.</p><p>This particular method was from a series of HeroTube videos about obstacle training and freerunning—parkour—techniques.</p><p>He hadn’t been looking at it for instructional purposes, at the time, more for research and understanding of how city heroes handled the urban environment—</p><p>Izuku stopped muttering to himself, mostly because his abs were really tight and it was hard to breathe and talk at the same time. <em>Ha</em>. That was one way to curb the habit!</p><p>By the time he pulled himself out of the distracting line of thought his hands bumped into the metal and he had to focus on scrambling up over the railings of the landing, which was also easier said than done. He kept the rope tight around his hands. If he fell, it would hurt, but it probably wouldn’t kill him.</p><p>From there it was easier.</p><p>He paused by the rope itself. He pulled it across the grated floor, arms protesting, and then undid the knot, pushing and pulling until he had a long length of it in his hands.</p><p>Izuku spent another few minutes just trying to arrange it back into a spiral; it didn’t quite work—the loops were uneven—but it allowed him to be fairly confident about the next time he used it.</p><p>He held it in his arms and said, clearly: “Inventory.”</p><p>The rope poofed away.</p><p>After that it was a bit more straightforward. Izuku took the steps from one landing to another, shaking out his wrists, until he climbed a ladder to the roof itself. He heaved himself onto it.</p><p>For a minute he only looked around, impressed with himself and the scenery—not that there was much to see, with the other buildings around.</p><p>He’d never been on a <em>roof</em> before.</p><p>Remembering the compass, Izuku focused on his HUD and it swam easily into focus. He turned carefully until he was orientated in the right direction, and then looked beyond the interface to see a rock formation in the distance.</p><p>Actually, it had faces carved on it, kind of like the Six Grandfathers in America. There were only four, though.</p><p>Izuku barely had time to study the features before another <em>Click</em> heralded the arrival of another pop-up.</p>
<p></p><div class="b2">
  <p>
    <span class="font-blue">Side Mission Complete!</span>
  </p>
  <p>You have climbed a building. Your goal is clear: Hokage Rock is the highest vantage point in Konoha. Good luck!</p>
</div><p>He dismissed it with a small frown, chewing that over. Hokage Rock. How was he supposed to get over there? He watched in surprise as his experience bar grew a little.</p><p>
  <em>Click!</em>
</p>
<p></p><div class="b2">
  <p>
    <span class="font-blue">Side Mission: Find a Path</span>
  </p>
  <p>Konoha is a big village! Despite growing up here, you don’t know all the roads and streets. Ask a villager the best route up Hokage Rock.</p>
  <p>Do you Accept? <span class="font-blue"> [Yes/No]</span></p>
</div><p>Izuku accepted the quest.</p><p>Probably he could, through trial and error, figure out a way up there, but it would take forever. Also, apparently Side Missions yielded some experience.</p><p>“Oh, heck.” Izuku realized out loud. “How am I going to get down?”</p><p>He opened up his Inventory, eyeing the rope speculatively. Then he closed it again.</p><p>It was much easier going down than getting up. Izuku made his way easily enough to the bottommost landing, and with the shriek and pull of metal managed to lower the previously-retracted ladder to the ground.</p><p>“Success!” He pumped his fist into the air, heart racing as he struggled to keep the volume under control. The last thing he wanted was for an uncle or auntie to come out of the shop thinking he was causing trouble in their alley, like some kind of hoodlum.</p><p>He left quickly.</p><p>When he stepped out on the other side of the alley, he stepped into some kind of farmer’s market. It was a large square with dozens of wooden booths and permanent shops, fruits and vegetables and even some animals all around.</p><p>Some vendors had weapons and others had fresh food, some had novelties—but it wasn’t as common. He got the feeling this was an established part of the village and not a festival.</p><p>Now to find someone who wasn’t too busy…</p><p>Izuku wove in and out of the crowd for some time, keeping his eyes peeled. Everything was so realistic and carefully rendered, down to the feeling of the wind on his face and the smells of the fresh fruit pies being sold next to him.</p><p>It was only after Izuku—obviously, being without any kind of money—found a place to rest in the shade that he found some clue of what to do next.</p><p>An older woman was struggling to stack large sacks of flour behind one of the buildings. Izuku cautiously wandered over. As he watched, the woman straightened up and rubbed her back with a grimace.</p><p>His mouth was open and words were coming out before he could even think about it.</p><p>“Auntie, do you need some help?”</p><p>She jumped a little, looking him up and down with shrewd eyes. Izuku abruptly realized that instead of a black-haired, blue-eyed boy she’s seeing the girl on the cover of the games.</p><p>Izuku flushed. He could feel the ribbon on top of his head.</p><p>“Yeah, alright.” The woman agreed somewhat wryly. “I woke up with my back aching this morning and I’ve got to get this flour over to our pastry stand. I can’t offer you much, but I’ll give you some Ryo and a few snacks if you take ten of these bags over to my wife. Sound fair?”</p><p>Izuku would have done it for free, but he’s supposed to be Sakura and this was supposed to be a video game. He nodded and, as expected, a pop up appeared.</p>
<p></p><div class="b2">
  <p>
    <span class="font-blue">Side Mission! E-Rank</span>
  </p>
  <p>Deliver 10 bags of flour to Tenjō Taiyaki</p>
  <p>Do you Accept? <span class="font-blue"> [Yes/No]</span></p>
</div><p>Izuku hit yes.</p><p>The woman’s golden eyes lit up with acceptance.</p><p>“I’m going to take a seat over here. Ask me if you have any questions.”</p><p>So saying, she eased herself into a nearby chair with relief on her face.</p><p>Izuku went to the first of the bags.</p><p>They were two-thirds of his height! Clearly ten of these bags would be enough for the day, if not the entire week!</p><p>He bent over, careful to lift with his legs and keep his back relatively straight. When he picked it up, he was surprised to see a flicker on his HUD.</p><p>Color slipped out of the world and the green bar’s progress stopped.</p><p>“You’ve exceeded your carry limit.” Sai explained, cheerfully perched on the rest of the flour sacks, which were in turn stacked up on a pallet against the wall of the building.</p><p>“So I can’t carry them? Why did it let me accept the quest!?”</p><p>“Calm down.” Sai said, voice inflectionless. “You can carry it, but you won’t be able to walk at a normal speed. Moreover, you’ll lose stamina as you do. If you don’t set the bag down before your stamina bar runs out, you’ll have to set it down. Also, if you completely drain your stamina, you won’t be able to do anything strenuous until the bar is completely full. If this happens, it will change to red while it refills.”</p><p>Curiously, Izuku discovered it wasn’t hard to hold it for now. It was like the sack was weightless in his arms.</p><p>“Okay, I think I got it.” He said, only to grunt when color returned to the world.</p><p>“You sure you got it?” The woman asked.</p><p>Izuku nodded, shooting her what he hoped was a confident smile.</p><p>Then, one eye worriedly on his steadily draining green bar, Izuku took a careful step. He didn’t have any trouble holding the flour, but his progress was pretty slow. He couldn’t quite see above the lip of the bag.</p><p>Fortunately, he didn’t have to. He made it to the edge of the alley and turned unerringly in the direction his HUD indicated, the white diamond on his centered compass bar showing the way.</p><p>It was difficult because people kept bumping into him, usually with a brief apology but sometimes with no word at all. Once he was almost jostled into dropping his burden.</p><p>Finally, the compass point turned to his left and Izuku spun, only to realize he was directly in front of the stall. Whoops.</p><p>He took a few more steps and set the bag down between the stall and the next one, brushed off his hands, and jogged over.</p><p>His stamina bar started to refill.</p><p>It had only drained perhaps eighty-five or ninety percent.</p><p>“Excuse me, auntie!” Izuku said, politely. The woman working the stand turned to him in some surprise.</p><p>“Your wife asked me to bring you some flour. Is there good?” He pointed at the space just outside of the entrance, where he’d lowered the bag.</p><p>“Oh, that’s fine. Thank you! Is she alright?”</p><p>“Um, she said her back was acting up. Don’t worry! She’s resting now.”</p><p>The older blonde woman with crow’s feet along her brown eyes laughed.</p><p>Her wife, on the other hand, had darker hair and yellow eyes, and darker skin as well. They must look very complimentary next to each other.</p><p>Izuku wondered what their names were but didn’t want to ask.</p><p>Maybe they were NPCs who didn’t even have names. It was possible.</p><p>“That’s my Amaboshi, all right.” She flipped some of the cakes in front of her, precise and practiced. “Thank you for helping us out.”</p><p>Izuku nodded and went to go do the rest of the sacks.</p><p>Once he knew relatively where to go, and that it wasn’t go to drain him dry to move a single sack, Izuku got into a rhythm.</p><p>The only noteworthy thing happened on his third sack.</p><p>“Sai!” he called, and the pause function activated.</p><p>“Yes?”</p><p>“It says my Strength went up?” Izuku trailed off.</p><p>“That happens. Say ‘Stats’.”</p><p>“Stats.” Izuku parroted obediently. A new menu appeared.</p><p>“Your basic Stats are Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma.</p><p>“When your Character Level increases, you are given a level adjacent amount of free Stat Points to apply as you like, but they can also increase through special actions. Increasing your Stats does not account towards Experience for Character Leveling.”</p><p>Izuku quickly realized that that was something he could hyperfocus on until he destroyed all the fun of the game. It was Pokemon EVs all over again.</p><p>He resolved then and there not to focus too much on the numbers of it.</p><p>“Thank you.” He addressed Sai, who nodded at the dismissal and vanished.</p><p>When Izuku lowered the last bag onto its brother, completing the two piles stacked five high, he was surprised that no pop up appeared.</p><p>His compass was leading him to the front of the shop, though, so he gamely followed directions.</p><p>“Oh, was that the last bag?” The lady asked, and when he nodded beamed at him. “I didn’t get your name, my dear.”</p><p>“It’s. Um. Haruno Sakura.” Izuku admitted.</p><p>“Thank you very much, then, Sakura. I can offer you 500 Ryo for your trouble.”</p><p>She handed over the money and as it hit Izuku’s hands, it shattered into golden light. He kept his face normal.</p><p>“Oh, and where are my manners? I’m Fukuro Biyaku. Do you have a favorite kind of Taiyaki?”</p><p>As soon as he selected three treats and put them in his inventory, the anticipated pop up arrived deeming the mission complete. His experience bar filled to the two-thirds place.</p><p>“Come back around next time you want a snack!”</p><p>Izuku nodded, promised he would, and got about five feet away before he was doubling back.</p><p>“Ah, Auntie—Fukuro-Oba-chan—”</p><p>“Aren’t you sweet!” She tittered.</p><p>“Do you know the best way to get to the top of Hokage Rock?”</p><p>Mercifully, she did not question him.</p><p>She gave him directions.</p><p>He was able to follow them out of this district, primarily a market one, and into the residential area. There were some government buildings and some large estates, broken up with plenty of trees and parks and meadows, and he had to cross a bridge.</p><p>Then he noticed the change in elevation and finally stepped onto the right street, a dirt path that would lead him up onto the relatively small mountain and the end of his mission.</p><p>By this time it was easing into mid-afternoon.</p><p>Izuku kept walking. His constitution score increased by one, probably from the amount of walking around he was doing, and probably because he was starting from zero.</p><p>He forcibly took his thoughts away from that direction.</p><p>When the road in front of him levelled out into even ground, Izuku was surprised to find himself in a forest. He hadn’t seen a forest from the village.</p><p>His compass led him in one direction, though, so he gamely followed, tripping through the brief underbrush. He came out, some half an hour later, to a break in the trees and the grass-covered cliff top, overlooking a village painted red and gold by the setting sun.</p><p>“Oh.” He muttered, somewhat affected. He walked over to the edge, staring out. It was a lot larger than he had guessed. He could see the walls from here.</p><p>The Hokage Rock, too, was larger than he expected. He could fit his entire school and the surrounding area on the clearing alone. Konoha was a little bigger than Musutafu, likely by design.</p><p>It made him care just a little bit more about a ‘village’ he’d never heard of before.</p><p>“Clever.” He admitted, taking one step further. He was on one of the heads now, though he didn’t know which. It was much harder to tell from up here.</p><p>The sun, hung like a lantern just above the village, spilled vermillion light over the verdant countryside, setting every tree and building on fire, and licks of orange and yellow followed and flickered along the vision, like heat-haze, as wind blew through Izuku’s hair.</p><p>He took another step, transfixed—</p><p>Only to jump back in surprise, ribs thundering, as a <em>Click!</em> sounded and the pop up sprang up in front of his face.</p>
<p></p><div class="b2">
  <p>
    <span class="font-blue">Mission Complete!</span>
  </p>
  <p>Standing at the tallest point, you learn details about the village of Konoha. You know the locations of fences, shops, contacts and major characters. They will show up on your <span class="font-blue">Map.</span></p>
</div><p>Izuku dismissed it. Next came a flood of notifications, each preceded by an eager sound.</p>
<p></p><div class="b2">
  <p>
    <span class="font-blue">[Map of Konoha Extracted]</span>
  </p>
  <p>
    <span class="font-blue">[Eagle Vision: Unlocked]</span>
  </p>
  <p>
    <span class="font-blue">[Chakra Control Skill Tree: Unlocked]</span>
  </p>
  <p>
    <span class="font-blue">[Fuinjutsu Skill Tree: Unlocked]</span>
  </p>
  <p>
    <span class="font-blue">[+450 XP]</span>
  </p>
  <p>
    <span class="font-blue">[+1000 Ryo]</span>
  </p>
</div><p>Before he could even begin to process any of that, another notification flashed.</p>
<p></p><div class="b2">
  <p>
    <span class="font-blue">[Level up!]</span>
  </p>
  <p> You have reached<span class="font-blue"> Level 2.</span></p>
  <p>+2 Stat Points available</p>
  <p>Please choose one of the following:</p>
  <p><span class="font-blue">Increase Chakra</span>/<span class="font-green"> Increase Stamina</span>/<span class="font-red"> Increase Health</span></p>
</div><p>Despite the fact that he hadn’t endured any combat at all for the entire game so far, Izuku selected health. This was supposedly a shonen game and with the sheer <em>realism</em> involved, he didn’t want to get seriously injured any time soon.</p><p>The last thing he needed was to be squishy.</p>
<p></p><div class="b2">
  <p>
    <span class="font-blue">+1 to Wisdom!</span>
  </p>
</div><p>Izuku boggled at the fading notification.</p><p>Well, that was convenient. His mind danced with different opinions and options for Skill Trees, stat allocation, and future Missions he might take. All this, and he hadn't even got to the Academy yet? He couldn't even imagine.</p><p>“Sai,” He began, beginning to feel overwhelmed at the information. The worst part was it had been <em>fun</em> so far. Interesting, if stressful, because he didn’t understand how any of this was possible.</p><p>It certainly wasn’t a dream.</p><p>The sunset bled into monochrome gray.</p><p>“Yes?” Asked his guide.</p><p>“How do I wake up?”</p><p>“Ah.” Sai smiled, “Good question.”</p><p>For a moment Izuku was absolutely positive things would take a horrible turn, and Sai would tell him ‘you don’t!’ and maybe chase him around with a sword.</p><p>No, that would have been too easy. Too dream-like.</p><p>“Haruno Sakura lives in an apartment by herself. She, like many of the children in the village, was orphaned in a devastating attack seven years ago. Unlike most, however, she comes from civilian parents. Regardless, the law of the village is that any orphan must first pass through the Shinobi Academy, and graduate, before opting out of a ninja career.”</p><p>That was deeply interesting and he wanted to ask more, but he also wanted to wake up before he lost his mind. He needed time to think about all this.</p><p>“What can you tell me about entering and exiting the game?” He asked, broadly, hoping that it might trigger a better explanation. Sai could get caught up in the lore.</p><p>“It’s simple.” Sai smiled briefly. “Whenever you go to sleep here, you will wake up as Izuku. Whenever you go to sleep as Izuku, you will wake up as Sakura.”</p><p>“What about sleeping?” He asked.</p><p>“A good question.” Izuku was starting to hate that phrase. “You technically <em>are</em> sleeping right now, despite the game. You will awake well-rested after eight hours have passed. It will be a very good night’s sleep.”</p><p>“Will I wake up where I went to sleep? As Sakura, I mean.”</p><p>“Yes.” Sai said. “It is highly advised that you finish each night inside your apartment, while inside the village.”</p><p>“Do I need to eat?” He started walking. The world was greyed out, not invisible, and he could see well enough even if no one was paying him any mind.</p><p>“Various foods have various effects on your stamina, health and chakra. You will not feel hunger, though you may at times eat socially. Orphans enrolled at the Academy are given a monthly stipend of 5000 Ryo to cover food and necessities.”</p><p>Sai walked with him.</p><p>He’d only been in the village for a ‘day’ but it was already strange to see it so washed out, when earlier the colors had been vibrant. Sai guided him through checking the map, so he used it to head down the mountain and to his apartment. He dismissed Sai to take it in.</p><p>It was sparsely furnished, of course; his character was a seven year old girl without much money. The furniture was in light browns, the carpet white. There were some stuffed animals and a closet full of red-pink clothes.</p><p>It was really only a small sitting room, a kitchenette, and a bedroom. Izuku walked over to the bed and collapsed onto it. He wasn’t particularly tired—his body had full stamina—but mentally, he was struggling to cope with a lot of this.</p><p>It was so <em>cool</em>. But also insane.</p><p>He closed his eyes, enjoying the softness of the pillow under his cheek. It took him maybe ten minutes to doze off, comfortable and warm in the big bed.</p><p>And then he woke up, his mother calling him to breakfast.</p><p>“What?” He asked his ceiling.</p><p>His phone flashed at him from the floor, complaining about a low battery, and Izuku hissed before plugging it in. Maybe if he charged it while he ate, he could get a decent percentage, and turn it off for most of the day to make up for it.</p><p>Then he’d have it for the walk home, at least.</p><p>“Izuku!” His mother called again, and Izuku put the whole weird experience behind him in favor of the here and now.</p><p>“Coming!” He called back, and with one lingering glance at his phone, started to get dressed for the day.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I can't promise I won't edit this, but I do want to share it and show everyone, so here's chapter one. I'm definitelynotaminion.tumblr.com/ask if you want to talk to me over on tumblr. No concrit, please! But do feel free to tell me what you liked.</p><p>The game title is from Digimon Cybersleuth: A hacker's memory, and the game mechanics are so far mostly from Skyrim &amp; Botw. And Assassin's creed, obviously.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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